RON430

Initial impression - Leatherique and Surflex Soffener might be the same stuff. They are very, very similar in appearance and smell. The Leatherique might be a bit lower viscosity but these two are just about identical. After the Leatherique has a chance to soak in, I will post some impressions of how the leather feels. As far as applying, no real difference at all between them.

RON430

Continuation, the Leatherique is different than the Soffener. The Leatherique dries to a much higher gloss, maybe higher gloss than any leather treatment I have seen. I may be wrong here but it seems like the Soffener really does just soak right in and the Leatherique might not be quite as good, staying more on the surface. All of the treatments recommend buffing after it dries but I rarely do that with the Soffener/Griot approach. Tried it with the Leatherique and it does remove some of the gloss. I would say the "feel" is somewhere inbetween the Soffener/Griot approach and a Lexol type product. Wish I had more definitive conclusion and could say it was a slam dunk one way or the other but I don't have that strong a feel. I will certainly use up the Leatherique as well as the Soffener/Griot I have. Somehow I am getting around to the fact that while there may be differences in the individual treatments, it is far more important that whatever you use, you use it regularly. The Lexus leather really seems prone to drying out and getting stiff. In the summertime here with 90 plus weather I am leaning toward something like three treatments every eight weeks to keep things flexible and soft. I will keep watching the Leatherique and I haven't used the Prestine cleaner yet but will update as I see how things go.

asci01

Anybody knows what's the best way/product to make the leather have that new leather smell again?

RON430

Last update on the Leahterique. I applied the Griot's leather care over the weekend and, just like using Soffener, the leather got much more "supple" to the touch. I think Leatherique is a good product and likely very equivalent to Soffener and I will continue to use one or the other for a deep moisturizing and then will follow up with the Griot's to get that buttery soft feel which neither of the other products do IMO.

asci01 - I have gotten away from wanting the strong leather smell, the standard leather develops a much more subtle aroma over time that I have come to find is all that I want. But, if I had to say which product has the best "leather" smell, I think I would be tempted to say the Zaino leather treatment. Have to order direct from Zaino and probably worth it.

asci01

RON430, thank you for your advice. I've heard great things about Zaino but never decided to get it since there are so many other products for leather care but now I have one more reason to try Zaino.

Thank you for helping other fellow CL members !

Deanski

I'm a Einszette user myself on a SC430 Ecru (the toughest) to keep clean short of Saran Wrap the darn Ecru. Lederpflege is great as well as the Autoglym products. Leave it clean without gloss! I HATE GLOSS ON LEATHER! Your paint finish should shine, NOT the leather!

Always test in an area where you cannot see it before you use any new product, say like UNDER the seat and use a mirror to check B4 and after.

Regards,
Deanski

RON430

Deanski - No matter what you use on leather, I couldn't agree more about shine, it does not belong on leather. The Leatherique really surprised me drying to a fairly high gloss shine. If I want Armoralled vinyl, I will get Armoralled vinyl. I don't expect leather to have a gloss and it looked "unnatural" to my eye. Don't know about the treatments you mentioned but if the object was aroma, which I have become to not really want, the leather develops its own subtle, expensive, aroma, the Zaino had one of the best. Otherwise, I will stick with the Soffener (maybe leatherique) and folllow up with the Griot's. Although I will try to track down the brands you mentioned. Love those options.

Deanski

RON430:

You can get Einszette at:Einszette interior products

Autoglym can be found at: Autoglym

These are by far, the best sites to get products from.

Also, Autopia.org is a great site for detailing info and to see what people are using, how well it works, what to expect, how to use it etc. You have to register to the site, but it's worth it.

Another item I use are Micro Fiber towels from Pakshak.com. Great MF towels! But, if you want the best towels for QD and final wipe-down, go to the Autopia-carcare.com site and find the CBT towels, these are from Italy and are by far the softest terry towel you will find. It's so soft, that it slips around on my finish!

The leather care products; Einszette and Autoglym are the best I've found yet! No overpowering smell, NO GLOSS! Does such a nice job. Trust me, the Ecru is the toughest interior to keep clean! Leatherique is good for cleaning really tuff problems, but treatment I'd go Einszette!

Regards,
Deanski

RON430

The ivory interior ain't exactly low maintenance.

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.

UncleNick

I should own stock in Lexol...

parula

Wealth of information on this thread, tks to all.

I use reasonably-color-matched towels to sit on in the summer to prevent the salty sweat from getting into the leather, it helps keep the leather clean and soft as the leather is not absorbing anything other than Lexol occasionally.

RON430

Just to keep this going and prove I haven't gotten writer's cramp, here is the latest addition. I tried Deanski's Enszett Lederpflege (EL). This product is a thick creamy liquid while the other treatments I have mentioned are liquid. Probably not quite as thick as Hide Food but no where near as liquid as Soffener. It applies easily and has a very slight odor that disappears pretty quickly. Typical of a cream, it doesn't penetrate as quick as a pure liquid but does seem to disappear fairly quickly. It claims to clean as well and it does pretty much take off light dirt during application. It gives a somewhat different feel to the leather, not quite as supple as the Griot's but definitely a nice softness and flexibility. I think if I really was worried about the leather or was in a hot climate, I would still use Soffener/Griot, at least to get the leather back to a good supple state but this is a very, very good product. My opinion is that if you like Hide Food (which I am not all that much of a fan of) you will love this product. It gives a better overall look and feel and it just seems that much easier to apply and get to soak in to the leather. For now, I think I will use the Soffener/Griot treatment and intersperse with the EL, it really is quite good and produces a slightly different feel. My guess is that if it gets very cool, the EL (like Hide Food) really won't penetrate very much but all the treatments have that problem. Really want to apply them on a good hot day and leave the windows rolled up and give the stuff a chance to penetrate,sitting on the surface doesn't do much good.

Lexterious

I also have found this thread to be very informative.

Has the Lederpledge had a good history? I bought a few jars of Hide Food just because there seems to be some very good history with it. I don't want an "Armorall Scenario" where initially the product seemed to work but years later you find out that you've been destroying your goods all along...

RON430

Beats me. Probably the folks at Autotopia could answer.

Lexterious

I've started using the Rolls Royce/Bently/Jaguar Hide Food on my 330's Ivory interior. ...and I'm starting to have second thoughts. I'm new to leather. And due to the fine quality, I'm prepared to invest some time a couple of times a year and put on the Hide Food.

However, unless I'm doing it wrong, I notice a greasy feeling afterwards that later becomes a waxy feeling. By waxy, I mean that a week or 2 after you put it on, when you touch the seats, you are left with a waxy feel on your skin. I'd hate see a waxy substance sticking to a fine wool suit.

My method is as follows (gleaned from some posts here):

1) bake the car under the hot sun with the windows up for a few hours to warm up the leather
2) put on the Hide Food fairly liberally.
3) continue baking for 2 or 3 hours
4) use a soft terry towel and rub hard to get as much of the Hide Foold off as possible.

Despite step 4, I still get the waxy feel.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a better product that keeps the leather soft that does not leave behind a waxy residue?